As for how his character has changed since the first film (not to mention the actor playing James "Rhodey" Rhodes), Cheadle said the ramifications of Tony Stark's big reveal that he was Iron Man in the first film will be central theme of the sequel.

"It's gotten deeper, because in the first film Tony wasn't saying he was Iron Man," he said. "But now that he's embraced it, there's all this attendant problems, pressure and questions that all of the characters around him have to deal with."